Hi!! Its been awhile since I blogged and am back after the long break...

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi to all of you...

Come Vinayaka Chaturthi and the first thing that comes to my mind is the yummy Kozhakattai (pronounced as ko-ḻa-cut-aye) that mom makes...They are rice flour dumplings stuffed with either a sweet or salty filling.Here I give the traditional recipe from my mother.

Prep. Time : _____ I leave this empty! It is ofcourse a bit time consuming for beginners.... I took about 2- 2 1/2hours when I did it for the first time! uff... (end product is worth the effort though ;)) It will improve with practice.The quantity given below makes around 45 Kozhakattais.

1. For the covering:Soak the rice over night. Grind the rice into a smooth paste by adding a little amount of water each time. The amount of water added shouldnt exceed twice the amount of rice used.In a thick bottomed pan, add the sesame oil, the ground rice batter and salt.On a medium flame, keep stirring the mixture. As the rice starts getting cooked, it will start forming lumps. Keep stirring (good exercise for your arms).The contents will combine into one single mass.The dough is done when there is a shine on the outer layer. Keep this closed with a lid.To avoid the dough from becoming hard and cracked on the outside, you can cover it with a wet muslin cloth/ kitchen napkin and then cover the container with lid.You can also prepare the same using ready made rice flour. The proportion for the rice flour and water is 3/4:1. I prefer the soaking method though.

2. Sweet Filling:Take the coconut scrapings and jaggery in a thick bottomed pan. On a medium flame, heat the mixture. Keep stirring till all the jaggery is melted and the contents combine into a mass. This would take about 10-15 minutes. Add the cardamom powder and the filling is ready.You can use either fresh/frozen coconut or the dry coconut powder. Fresh/frozen gives the best results. However, if you have just the dry coconut powder, follow the same procedure. In addition sprinkle some water when you start melting the jaggery.

3. Uzhundu (Lentil) Filling:Soak the urad dal for about 2-3 hours. Grind the soaked dal, salt, chillies and hing into a coarse paste. In a pan, heat a spoonful of oil, add the mustard seeds.Once they sputter, add the ground paste. On a low flame, stir the mixture.As the dal starts getting cooked, it will become a powder.Add the coconut and chopped corriander leaves and the Uzhudu filling is ready.

4. Putting it all together:Now with the dough for the covering made in step 1, punch it like chapathi dough to make it workable (take small portions at a time). Use a mixture of sesame oil and water to avoid sticking of the dough.Make small pouches out of the dough, fill it with sweet filling or urad filling and close the pouch.Usually the sweet ones are made into a round shape, closing the pouch by pinching together the ends and the urad filled ones are made into a oval shaped pouch. The ends of the pouch are sealed well.Keep all these closed with a wet muslin cloth.

Steam for about 10 minutes. I used idly plates and cooker to steam.Yummy Kozhakattai is ready!

Unfortunately since my camera is damaged, I could only get the final dish with a cell phone. Will post the pics for individual steps next time.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

We had an awesome long weekend. We had some friends come over and we went to our favourite place, Silver lake at Ludington. The weather was just superb and we had a good time.

As always am in no mood to get back to routine and chose to make a simple dinner today. I had a stock of baby lima beans in my kitchen from a long time. I love to use legumes with cabbage as they just blend so well and decided to use it this time with the lima beans.

The outcome was healthy, tasty and simple.

INGREDIENTS:

Chopped Cabbage: I used half of a medium sized one

Baby lima beans : 1 cup

Red chillies: 4-5 nos.

Grated coconut: 3/4 cup

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Urad dal: 2 tblspn

Corriander seeds: 1 tblspn

Channa dal: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves: a sprig

Salt as required

METHOD:

Cook the cabage and lima beans seperately in microwave such that they are not over cooked.

In a pan heat some oil and add the red chillies, urad dal, corriander seeds, coconut and asafoetida. Roast well and grind with cumin seeds in a mixer.

Heat a spoonful of oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they sputter add the channadal, turmeric and curry leaves. Add the ground paste, salt and the cabbage and lima beans. Add water as per the consistency, it should be slightly thin. Boil for about 2 minutes and serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Posted by
Vidya

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

When in India we used to visit the temples in the north west karnataka belt atleast once a year. Udupi and Aanegudde are my favourites among them. The first thing that comes to my mind is the rasam and sambar served in the temples there....yummy!!!

Rasam especially is just heavenly. I love

the flavour of the masalas blended into the dish

I tried udupi rasam at home and my hubby just loved it... Here goes the recipe for the same...

Prep. Time: 20 mins

Serves: 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

Tomatoes: 1 medium sized

Corriander seeds: 2 tsp

Red chillies: 5-6 nos (adjust as per taste)

Black pepper: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Fenugreek (methi seeds): 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut: 1/2 cup

Jaggery powder: 1 tblsp

Tamarind paste: 1/2 tsp

(or juice from a ping-pong ball sized lump)

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Cilantro chopped: 1/2 cup

Curry leaves: a sprig

Oil for tempering

Salt as per taste

METHOD:

Dry roast the chillies, pepper, cumin seeds, fenugreek and corriander seeds. Grind into a powder along with coconut (slightly coarse) using a mixer. This powder can be stored for future use if ground without coconut. I have given measurements required for the rasam.

Add tomatoes, salt and the tamarind paste with sufficient water to make the rasam dilute and bring to a boil.

Once the raw smell of tamarind is gone, add the ground powder and mix well. Boil for 2-3 more minutes. Add the powdered jaggery and mix well.

In a kadai heat oil, add the mustard seeds. Once they sputter add the asafoetida and add this to the rasam. Add chopped cilantro and curry leaves.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hi there! Have been busy from past few weeks and havent been able to post recipes for dishes that I have been making. Am back after a fun filled and tiring weekend with another post for a sweet dish on the occasion of Tamil New Year...எல்லோருக்கும் இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் :)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Lauki or doodhi or bottle gourd is a very nutritious vegetable. It helps in digestion, is good for people down with jaundice and helps cure ulcers. I never used to like this vegetable as such, but guess this is the tastiest dish that can be made with bottle gourd and I just love it :)

Prep time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

INGREDIENTS:

For Kofta:

Bottle gourd: 1 medium sized

Besan/ gram flour: 3/4 cup

Corn flour: 4 tblspns

Red onion (chopped finely): 1/4 cup

Green chillies (chopped finely): 5-6 nos.

Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp

Corriander seeds (crushed): 1tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil for deep frying

For Gravy:

Red Onion: 1 medium sized

Tomato: 1 medium sized

Cloves: 4-5 nos

Cinnamon stick: 1/4 inch

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Corriander powder: 1 tsp

Green chillies (chopped): 4-5 nos

Ginger (grated): 1/2 tsp

Fresh cilantro chopped: 1/2 cup

METHOD:

Peel the bottle gourd and remove the soft pith.

Grate the gourd and squeeze out the juice completely (you can save the juice to be used for the gravy).

In a bowl, mix the grated gourd, besan, corn flour and all other ingredients mentioned above for the kofta.

Mix well such that you can bind them into lemon sized balls (you can spr

inkle some juice squeezed out of the gourd to help in the binding).

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the koftas over medium flame.

Keep aside

For the gravy, heat oil in a kadai, add the cloves and cinnamon. Once they are roasted add ginger, half of the chopped onions and tomatoes and saute well for about a few minutes till they are soft. Cool this and gring into a smooth paste and keep aside.

In the kadai, heat a little oil, add cumin seeds and wait for them to sputter.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Paruppu aracha curry literally means curry made with ground dal. This is a tasty and healthy dish made with channa dal. Beans, cluster beans and cabbage make good candidates for the dish.

Prep. Time: 30 mins

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

Channa dal: 3 cups

Chopped veggie (beans/cluster beans/cabbage): 1 cup

Red Chillies: 5-6 nos.

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Urad dal: 1 tsp

Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp

Turmeric: 1/ 4 tsp

Curry leaves: a sprig

Oil for tempering

Salt as per taste

METHOD:

Soak the channa dal for a few hours.

Cook the vegetables (do not over cook) and keep aside.

Drain the soaked dal and grind it with salt and red chillies. It should be slightly coarse. Add minimal water. **

In a kadai heat a little oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they sputter, add the asafoetida, turmeric, urad dal and curry leaves.

Add the ground dal mixture and roast the dal on medium flame (if flame is high, the curry will become too try). Mix well and drizzle oil as needed. The dal paste will now become powder.

Add the cooked vegetables and mix well.

Paruppu usli is ready. This serves as a good combination with mor kuzhambu or lemon rasam.

** Note: If you want to make the dish with least amount of oil, you can also steam the dal after grinding it. Place it on idly stands and steam it on cooker. Once done, mash the dal into a powder and continue by adding cooked vegetables.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Bitter gourd is a vegetable which not all like. But here is a dish which is not like any other bitter gourd dish. It has a special taste, a combination of sweet, tangy, spicy and a light touch of bitterness.

It makes a good combination with rasam and rice. I like to have it as a side dish for chapathi and dosa.

Prep. time: 25-30 mins

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

Bitter Gourd: 2-3 nos. (medium sized)

Tamarind paste: 1/2 tsp

Jaggery (powdered): 1/2 cup

Asafoetida: a pinch

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Water: 2 cups

Ghee/oil for tempering

Salt

For grinding:

Corriander seeds: 1 1/2 tblsp

Split chick peas (pottukadalai/dalia): 2 tblsps

Red chillies: 4-5 nos.

Grated coconut: 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds: 1tsp

METHOD:

Wash, deseed and chop the bitter gourds. In a kadai, heat a spoon of ghee or oil (bitter gourd when roasted with a little ghee reduces the bitterness) and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the chopped gourds and saute till they are tender. This takes about 5-8 minutes.

In the mean time, roast the ingredients mentioned above for grinding and grind them into a paste and keep aside.

When the bitter gourds are tender, add water, salt and tamarind paste and allow to boil till the tamarind doesnt smell raw. Then add the ground paste and mix well. Heat for about 5 mins.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Think of the monsoon days and the first thing that comes to my mind is hot molaga bajji and tea :) These are made with hungarian peppers and are not very hot as the other varieties of chillies.

Prep. Time: 30 mins.

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

Hungarian peppers: 4-5 nos.

Gram flour (besan): 2 cups

Rice flour: 1/4 cup

Red chilli powder: 3 tsp

Corriander powder: 2 tsp

Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp

Tamarind juice: 1/2 tsp

Baking soda: a pinch

Salt as per taste

Water

Oil to deep fry

METHOD:

Wash the peppers and make a slit in each of the peppers. Retain the stem. It would help in dipping the peppers whole.

Make a mixture of two tsps of red chilli powder, the corriander powder, salt, tamarind paste, crushed cumin seeds and asafoetida. For each of the pepper coat the insides with this mixture and keep aside.

In a bowl, add the besan, rice flour, 1 tsp red chillipowder, asafoetida, salt and baking soda. Add water and make a semi thick batter.

Heat oil. Dip each of the pepper in the batter so that it is completely covered and then deep fry till golden brown.

Dry roast the corriander seeds in a kadai till you get the aroma of corriander. Cool and grind in a mixer (dry). It should be slightly coarse.

In a mixing bowl, take the wheat flour and add all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add about a spoon of oil and sufficient amout of milk, curds and make a dough (similar to chapathi dough). You can make the dough with water too. I prefer to use a mixture of milk and curds to get softer parathas.

Make small balls out of the dough and flatten into small rounds using rolling pin. I would make these slightly thicker than chapathis.

Heat a tava and roast the parathas with a little oil on both the sides.

Serve hot with any suitable side dish. I love to have this plain with pickles and curd.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Black chick peas or Kala channa as called in India is a rich source of protein and fiber. It helps reduce cholesterol and is a very healthy food.

Here is my version of Kala channa masala .

Prep. Time: 25 mins

Serves: 3

INGREDIENTS:

Kala channa (black chickpeas): 3 cups

Tomato: 1 medium sized

Onion: 1 medium sized

Green chillies: 4 nos.

Ginger (grated): 1 tsp

Jeera: 1 tsp

Cloves: 4-5 nos.

Cinnamon stick: 1/2 inch

Maratha moggu: 2 nos

(I do not know its english name. May be someone can help me with this.)

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Dhania powder: 1 tsp

Jeera powder: 1/2 tsp

Garam masala: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp

Fresh cilantro chopped: 1/2 cup

Lemon juice: 1 tblspn

Water as required

Oil for tempering

Salt as per taste

METHOD:

Soak the channa overnight and pressure cook with a little salt.

In a kadai, heat a little oil and add cloves, cinnamon, maratha moggu and roast. To this, add 2 of the green chillies, ginger, half of the finaly chopped onion and tomato. When the onions turn golden and tomatoes are mashed, cool down the mixture and grind this along with 2 tablespoons of the cooked kala channa. Keep aside.

Add water as required to dilute the mixture and bring it to a single boil. Remove from the stove and add the garam masala, finely chopped cilantro and lemon juice. (It is better not to heat after adding the garam masala and lemon juice. Heating would reduce the flavour of the garam masala.) Mix well and serve hot with rotis, naans or parathas. It also goes with any rice item.

Based on the story of Satyavan and Savitri each region in India observes a fast in different time of the year. For tamilians, it is called Karadayan Nonbu or Viratham and is observed during the transition of the month Maasi into Phanguni.

Let me tell you the story briefly. Savitri was the beautiful and intelligent daughter of king Ashtapathi. She had the permission to choose her husband. One day she saw Satyavan in the forest carrying his blind parents in two baskets balanced on either side of a stick. Impressed by his devotion to his parents, Savitri decided to marry Satyavan. Satyavan was under the curse that he would die within the next one year. Even after knowing this, she was adamant and got married to him.

One year passed happily and then she realised that the time had come for him to die. She started following him wherever he went and she kept this fast. She cooked a special offering to God (adai) and served the same to her family.

One day, while cutting woods Satyavan fainted and she knew that his time had come. She could sense Yama, the God of death around and she followed him as he carried her husband's soul.

Yama ignored initially thinking that she would return soon. But she persisted

through all his tricks. Then Yama tried convincing her that it is against the law of nature to return the life of a dead person and that he can give her three boons instead.

Savitri agreed and asked for three boons: a son for her father, kindom and glory for her in-laws and then children for herself.

Thus, she was successful in winning the life of her husband.

So to this day, married women perform this viratham for the long healthy life of their husband and unmarried girls perform this in order to obtain a good partner.

Karadai with a dollop of butter is offered to God and the below mantra is chanted:

Urugda Venaiyum oru adayum nan veithen.

Oru kaalam yen kanavan yennai piriyatha iruka vendum

(I offer adai and butter to you. So that my husband and I never separate)

Vella Karadai (sweet)

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour: 1 cup

Jaggery: 1/2 cup

Kaaramani (blackeyed peas): 2 tblspns

Water: 2 cups

Grated coconut: 1/4 cup

Cardamom: 2

METHOD:

Dry roast the rice flour on a kadai (roast till golden brown or till you are able to put a like on medai with a pinch of flour). Cook the kaaramani (do not over cook: pressure cook till 2 whistles) and keep aside.

Soak the jaggery and drain. Heat the water and add the jaggery. When dissolved, add the karamani and coconut. Mix well. Add the roasted flour at once and mix well without lumps.

Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Make small thin patties out of the mixture and steam it (i use idly stand for this).

You can be sure that it is done properly if the adai has a shining texture and doesnt have broken edges.

Uppu Karadai (savoury):

INGREDIENTS:

Riceflour: 1 cup

Kaaramani (blackeyed peas): 2 tblspns

Chopped green chillies: 2-3 nos.

Grated coconut: 1/4 cup

Corriander chopped: a few strands

Urad dal: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Asafoetida: a pinch

Water: 2 cups

Salt as per taste

METHOD:

Roast the flour and cook the kaaramani. Keep aside.

Temper the mustard seeds, green chillies, urad dal and asafoetida. Add water and bring to a boil. Add kaaramani, coconut, corriander and salt to this.

Next, add the roasted flour in one shot and mix well.

Allow to cool for a few minutes. Make small thin patties and steam.

You can be sure that it is done properly if the adai has a shining texture and doesnt have broken edges.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

One of the things that I missed most when I came to US was street food like what I used to love in Bangalore. And when I say street food the first thing that comes to my mind is Gobi Manchurian. So here is my version of Gobi Manchurian. Hope you like it.

INGREDIENTS:

Gobi / Cauliflower: 1 medium sized

Corn Flour: 2 cups

Red Chilli powder: 2 tsp

Red Onion: 1 small

Green Onions chopped: 1/2 cup (optional)

Ginger (Chopped into cubes): 1 tblspn

Garlic (Chopped into cubes): 1 tblspn

Chopped Green Chillies: 6-7 nos (as per taste)

Chopped Cilantro: 1/2 cup

Tomato Ketchup: 1/4 cup

Oil to deep fry

Salt to taste

Water for the batter as needed

METHOD:

Cut the cauliflower into florets, wash well and soak in water and a pinch or turmeric and salt.

In a bowl, add corn flour, salt, chilli powder and add water to make the batter. The batter should be a little thinner than the ones used for bhajji.

Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.

Drain the florets, dip it in the batter and deep fry them till golden brown. Keep them aside.

In a kadai add a little oil. Add the chopped green chillies, ginger, garlic, green onions and onions. Saute for a few minutes. Add the tomato ketchup and half of the salt. Saute.

Add the fried florets. and sprinkle the rest of the salt and saute well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot. You can add more ketchup as per taste.

If the dates are not deseeded/pitted, Soak the dates in warm milk overnight and remove the seeds. Add the sugar and grind the dates into a smooth paste using the milk used for soaking them. Add oil and mix. Sieve the flour and baking soda, add to the ground mixture one table spoon at a time and mix well. Add the nuts and mix.

Preheat oven to 350F and bake the cake in a greased baking dish for 30-40 mins.

To check if the cake is done, insert a knife at the centre of the cake and it should come out clean.

I tried the buttercream icing too. I had to manage the coloring with whatever I had that day and the color combination was not very satisfactory, but the taste was fine and everyone loved it.